


tell me you love me

by codhya



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Best Friends, Cute, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Haikyuu - Freeform, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Yearning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28219623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/codhya/pseuds/codhya
Summary: Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsuro don't have a lot in common except for one thing: they both are absolutely, hopelessly in love with their best friend and think the other would never accept their love.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

“You’re humming that thing again.”

“What thing?” Kenma asked, his lips curving down into a slight frown as he scrolled through his phone.

Kuroo simply grinned and swooped down to take a bite from Kenma’s ice cream, which he was holding in his other hand. Cookie cream topped with hot fudge. He never got the same flavours. Each time they bought ice cream, it is always a different flavor with a different topping. Somedays, he would scrunch up his nose and quietly pass the ice cream to Kuroo. And when he actually liked the ice cream, he would stay silent apart from a slight bob of his head every time he took a bite, showing that he was pleased with the taste. It meant that on those days, Kuroo won’t be getting any of his ice cream. So, he’d just resort to sneaking a bite. Today was one of those days.

Finally looking up from his phone, Kenma smacked the back of Kuroo’s head with a disapproving look. Kuroo grinned.

“Y’know, that song you hum every time you finish a task. Isn’t it the song which plays in that one videogame if you win?” Kuroo asked, bumping his shoulder against Kenma’s.

Kenma looked up, his golden eyes glinting in the daylight,” I’m surprised you remember.”

Kuroo shrugged and looked away.

“I sometimes think of everyday tasks as levels that I’m trying to complete. They tire me out too fast often, so thinking of it like that helps. And the song… I don’t know. It just stuck with me, I guess.” Kenma said, eyes glued to the ground. His voice was languid and comforting. Hearing Kenma speak made Kuroo feel the same way he felt when he watched honey dripping from a jar or a river flowing at its own pace. Peaceful. Calm. At ease.

“Huh. It’s because of classical conditioning!” when Kenma ever so slightly raised an eyebrow at him, Kuroo elaborated,” It’s when your mind associates an environmental stimulus with a naturally occurring stimulus. Basically, when you win a game and that song plays, you hum along because you’re happy that you finished that level, right? When you repeat that action often, your mind registers that. Now that you completed a task that you consider a level successfully, even though there’s no background music or game now, you automatically start humming because you’re so used to associating the happiness completing a task gives you with that song. Makes sense?”

Kenma rolled his eyes, taking a small bite of his ice cream,” Whatever. You are such a nerd.”

“Hey!”

Kenma smiled that barely-there smile of his that Kuroo loved so much. One of the things that never failed to make Kuroo proud was that he was the only one who can make Kenma smile so easily.

“But you never hum that thing when you’re done hanging out with me, though. Or do you?” he asked, genuinely curious.

Kenma shook his head softly, his blonde tipped strands covering his face,” No, I don’t. Because they’re not tasks.”

“Then what are they?”

Kenma just glared at the ground, refusing to meet the other’s questioning gaze,” They’re just… fun.”

Fun. Kenma considered hanging out with Kuroo fun. That was not even that big of a compliment. Kuroo shouldn’t be feeling like a toasted marshmallow ready to melt any second. But he did.

“KYANMAAA! How you flatter me!”

“Shut up, Kuroo.”

Classical conditioning or not, Kuroo remembered why it was that song Kenma chose to hum every time he completed a task. Of course, he remembered. He can never forget any of his memories with Kenma.  
***

_It was 4 in the morning and Kuroo already started his morning run. The air was chilly and he was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It had become a routine of his for the past month; to wake up really early with the excuse of going for a run but in reality, the main purpose was to go check on Kenma and make sure he at least got two hours of sleep. That git would continue playing video games all night if Kuroo didn't drag him by his ears to the bed and talk him to sleep._

_He stopped in front of the Kozume household and rubbed his hands together to get some warmth. Unsurprisingly, the lights in Kenma's room were still on._

_Kuroo was the only one outside their family to have a spare key to their house because according to them, 'he will be completely ruined if not for you.'_

_It truly was a privilege that Kuroo flaunted with every chance he got. He quietly tiptoed inside and closed the door behind him. He jumped up the stairs gracefully, skipping three steps at a time ("Sometimes I forget that you are not a cat. It's hard to believe that you are human when you do that." Kenma had said once.)_

_"Why the hell are you still-" Kuroo stopped in his tracks when he saw Kenma on the floor, crumpled up on the floor and trembling uncontrollably. The message 'YOU LOST' was glaring so brightly that Kuroo had to shield his eyes from the light._

_Trying to control the rising panic, Kuroo quickly went to his side, "Kenma? Hey, what happened?"_

_"Kuroo? Is that you?"_

_Kenma was never the one to yell or talk loudly. His voice was always low. But hearing him like that, so weak and vulnerable, hit Kuroo like a hail storm. He felt his own eyes prick with tears._

_"Yes, Kenma, it's me." He moved towards the boy and put an arm around his shoulder, "I'm here."_

_A sob tore through Kenma's chest, "I'm so tired, Kuroo. I'm so fucking tired. I just want to sleep but I can't. I want to close my eyes and just sleep for once . I'm so tired," he pressed himself on Kuroo's chest, wrapping his wiry arms around him, "I keep thinking, maybe if I win this game, I can sleep. But I can't even fucking win this thing, Kuroo. I just want to sleep and I can't even do that."_

_Kenma had once told him that things get pretty rough during some nights because of his insomnia. Kuroo just didn't know how bad they would be._

_He bit down on his lip, hard, willing himself not to cry. His best friend needed him. He wasn't going to lose his shit now. He wrapped his arms around Kenma and pulled him closer._

_He had asked Kenma how to help him if he had a panic attack in front of him once. The answer he gave was vague, but that was enough for Kuroo. "Make me feel grounded," he had said, "Make me feel like I'm there. Like I exist and it's not just a nightmare I can't wake up from."_

_"Kenma. Tell me three things you can touch right now. Can you do that for me?"_

_Kenma inhaled shakily, "Kuroo, I can't-"_

_"I know it's hard, Ken," Kuroo whispered, threading his fingers through the latter's hair, "But try for me, please?"_

_"The carpet. The blanket wrapped around my legs. And you. I feel you."_

_"That's because I'm here. I'm right here, Kenma. I'm right here with you. And you are here too. This is not a nightmare. This is real, and so are you."_

_Kuroo felt Kenma's trembling cease gradually. When he felt his breathing slow, he continued, "And who said you can't win this stupid videogame? You are going to play this thing and win. Then, you're going to get some damn sleep."_

_After a few seconds, Kenma reluctantly removed his arms from around Kuroo's waist and grabbed the controller. Kuroo noticed the slight quiver in his fingertips and silently wrapped an arm around his shoulder reassuringly._

_And they played. Kenma didn't win it on the first try, but Kuroo made sure he didn't break down because of that. Every time he played, Kuroo would softly hum the song which played after he won the game. It was a silly, desperate idea that Kuroo didn't think would work, but that song would be stuck in Kenma's head for years to come._

_Kenma finally won the game when the sunlight started streaming through the curtains. Both of them were laying on their stomachs on the carpet. It was six in the morning and both the boys knew that there was no way they could attend school that day. Kuroo yawned, "C'mon Kenma. Go sleep on the bed."_

_Kenma dropped the controller to the side and curled up into a ball, head pressed on Kuroo's chest. Kuroo was almost certain Kenma could hear his heart fighting to jump out of its cage._

_"No," Kenma said and Kuroo could feel his lips curving up on his chest, "Let's stay like this for a while."_

_And so they did_.  
***  
"Kuroo," Kenma snapped,"Kuroo!"

Kuroo blinked, coming out of his daydream, "Huh?"

"Look at that," Kenma hissed, his eyes wide.

Only then, Kuroo heard the low, angry growl. There was a dog in front of them, crouched in a menacing position with its teeth bared. He felt Kenma take a step back, "Kuroo. Should we run?"

He waved him off, "Don't be stupid, Kenma. Look at him. He's clearly just scared of us."

"Kuroo, I swear to God-"

"Hey," Kuroo said softly, crouching down to its position. The dog simply looked confused now, as if he didn't know whether to pounce at this stranger or wag his tail.

Kuroo slowly extended his hand so as to not alarm the dog. He could barely hear Kenma's warnings behind him. He knew that chances were high that the dog would just bite his hand off, but he shrugged it off and moved closer to the dog. He always had a weak spot for animals.

Luckily, the dog understood that he meant no harm and bowed its head towards him. Kuroo grinned back at Kenma triumphantly as he cooed at the dog, "Who's a good boy? Yes, you are!"

Kenma made gagging noises in the background, to which he answered with his middle finger.

Ten minutes later, Kenma had to forcefully drag him away from the dog which was looking at him with pleading eyes, saying that they were going to be late for class. Kuroo blew a final kiss to the dog, which he had affectionately named "Truffle" and wiped away his fake tears.

Kenma shook his head disdainfully, "Are you afraid of anything at all?"

Kuroo so badly wanted to say 'I'm scared shitless of telling you how much I love you', but instead he just shrugged and took another bite from his ice cream.  
***


	2. Chapter 2

There was no level that Kenma couldn’t win.

There was no monsters he couldn’t slay, no bridges he couldn’t cross, no games he couldn’t win. And yet, there was just one thing that he couldn’t complete, no matter how much he tried.

“Kenkennnnn,” Kuroo sang,”How’s your exam prep going?”

Kenma rolled his eyes and retreated into his oversized sweater,”Kuroo, I study graphic designing and I’m a gamer. I don’t prepare for exams.”

“Genius only,” Kuroo said and stretched his arms above his head, making his shirt lift up to reveal his bronze skin. Kenma felt his mouth run dry.

God truly hated him.  
  
Hoping his cheeks weren’t as bright as a tomato, Kenma simply grunted and continued playing games in his phone.

A few seconds passed in silence and Kenma couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. He looked up at Kuroo to see a frown etched on his forever-cheery face, a faraway look in his eyes. 

Kenma nibbled on his lip. Like everyone, Kuroo too had bad days. He wasn’t very expressive about it. For a stranger, it might just seem like he was deep in thought, But Kenma knew better than to believe that. Kenma knew from how he was biting on his lip hard enough to draw blood and was clenching his fists a little too tightly that he wasn’t okay.

Kuroo wasn’t like others. He didn’t like sympathy. He felt that it made him feel weak. He would talk about how he was feeling once he felt better, but till then, Kenma knew what to do.

“Kuroo,” he called out,”I actually have to go through some notes but I’m too tired for revision now. Can you read them for me?”

His eyes immediately brightened when Kenma tossed a worn out textbook on his lap. Dramatically clearing his throat, he started,”Alright. Here we go.”

Kenma knew that Kuroo loved reading and helping Kenma study. Even though Kenma often teased him about it, he would be lying if he said he didn’t find that endearing.

“Gosh, Kenma!” Kuroo gasped,”Look at that! You actually took notes in class!”

Seeing that he wasn’t going to get any response, Kuroo chuckled and started reading.

His friends (Hinata and Kuroo) always told him that he had a soothing voice and that he really needed to start a podcast. Kenma didn’t really agree with that. Whereas if someone told him that Kuroo was going to start a podcast, he would fucking donate all his money to it. His voice wasn’t exactly what you would call gentle. It was low, smoky and gruff. But to Kenma, hearing his voice was the most comforting things in the whole damn universe. How could it not be? It was the same voice which lulled him to sleep when the nights seemed to bright and noisy. Every time he heard Kuroo speak, he could feel himself falling harder.

He loved watching Kuroo read. With his metallic eyes trained on the pages, he would read the words with such dedication that it made Kenma feel all warm and fuzzy. And everyone who knew Kenma knew that he wasn’t the one to feel warm and fuzzy a lot.

Even after he combed it back with his fingers, Kuroo’s bangs adamantly fell on his eye again. Kuroo huffed and the urge to weave his fingers through his messy hair and tie it in a ponytail was driving Kenma _insane._

“Kenma?” Kuroo asked, his voice unusually tender, “You okay?”

Kenma was sure he was going to fucking combust on spot.

“Kuroo, I uh,” _Just say it. You’re so close. I love you. Just say those three words_ ,”I didn’t quite get the last part, can you repeat that?”

_Mission failed._

He could hear the music which plays after he lost a game blaring in his head. Kenma sighed and sagged on the couch. Even after 432 attempts, the level he was trying to complete just seemed so _impossible_.

Kenma wasn’t really a fan of things which were intense. Everyone who knew him knew that. But loving Kuroo and not being able to tell him was like having his mind and body set on fire everyday. He had never felt anything as intense as his love for Kuroo and the scary thing was, he liked that feeling very, very much.

When did it all start? No one knew the answer to that and certainly not Kenma. He had always loved Kuroo. Asking when he exactly he started loving Kuroo is like asking when the universe was creating. It couldn’t be measured in years or days. It was just there, burning in all its glory, simply _existing_.

But Kenma did remember when he realized that he was utterly and hopelessly in love with Kuroo. If he considered memories as those treasure boxes he unveiled in his videogames, that particular memory would be the biggest treasure that he ever found.

***

_It was a lazy summer evening and all Kenma wanted was to roll his blanket around him like a burrito and lay on his bed comfortably. But Kuroo wasn’t having any of it. He had dragged him to the playground, one hand holding volleyball, one hand clutching Kenma’s hand tightly._

_Kenma had sighed wordlessly and trailed behind him. They played volleyball for a while and Kenma’s arms were already beginning to hurt from all the passing. But he didn’t stop, because Kuroo’s eyes shined like a whole diamond mine when he was playing volleyball and Kenma wanted to watch him like that for a little longer._

_Sensing some movement behind him, Kenma turned around. The volleyball bounced to the ground beside him, followed by Kuroo’s,”Kyanma! Watch the ball!”_

_But Kenma wasn’t listening. All his focus was on the beautiful calico cat in front of him. It’s yellow eyes were shing in the sunlight and it was so still that it might as well been a statue. All Kenma wanted to do was reach out and pet it at least once._

_It remained still when Kenma slowly inched closer to it. That’s it, he thought, come to me._

_“KYANMAAA!”_

_The cat let out a startled hiss and darted into the bushes._

_Kenma held his head in his hands,”You just couldn’t be a little less loud, could you?”_

_Kuroo frowned, “I- Hey look! It’s Bokuto! I’ll go say a quick hi and come back, wait here.”_

_As Kuroo ran away from him, Kenma pulled his hood down lower and sat on a swing. It was not that he didn’t like Bokuto. He was just a little too loud, brash and enthusiastic for his taste and Kenma didn’t really have the energy to deal with that much._

_Even as he busied himself with his videogames, Kenma couldn’t help but get annoyed at how long he was taking. The sky was blushing a deep red, making Kenma grumble,”That damned Rooster.”_

_Eventhough he was certain that Kuroo had forgotten about him, he made himself stay 10 more minutes just in case he was wrong._

_That’s when he heard him._

_“Kenma! Kenma look!”_

_Kenma lifted his head up to see Kuroo barreling towards him, a proud grin on his face and his hands holding something carefully._

_Kenma’s eyes widened. No, it couldn’t be._

_“Look who I found!” Breathlessly, he lifted up the growling calico cat for Kenma to see,”It was a hard one to catch, this one.”_

There was no Bokuto. This dork lied and chased after the cat.

_There were scratches and dots of blood all over his face and arms and his grin was blinding._

_That’s when it hit him._ I’m in love with him _. It hit him too fast too hard and all he wanted to do was pull him down and kiss him silly._

He went to catch a goddamn cat because he wanted to make me happy.

I love him.

_Kenma would’ve even burst into tears if the idiot had not immediately sneezed and thrown the cat on his face._

_***_

“Kenma! Kenma!” Kuroo yelled, snapping his fingers in front of his face,”You really need to stop daydreaming about me. This is important.”

Not trusting himself to come up with a coherent reply, Kenma whipped out his phone and sent him a meme that said,"Silence, hetero."

When his phone pinged with a text, Kuroo sent him a confused glance before he opened it. And as soon as he saw it, he doubled over laughing.

Kenma smiled. There it was, his favourite hyena laugh.

When Kuroo shook his head, his bangs fell on his eyes. Again.

_That’s it._

“Kuroo, stay still.” He ordered as he bunched Kuroo’s messy hair up in his hands, fumbling to grab a hair tie. He could only pray that Kuroo couldn’t hear his thundering heartbeat.

Kuroo, on the other hand, didn’t seem the least bothered,”Right,” he said, chuckling,”But you probably should change it to ‘Silence, homo’, though.”

Kenma froze. Very, very quietly, he asked,”Since when do you like men?”

Kenma had never been very good at identifying emotions, but he was sure that _something_ flashed through his eyes when he said,”Oh, I’ve always liked men.”

***


	3. Chapter 3

“Where’s Kenma?”

Yaku shrugged,” He’s probably sitting in the middle of the road playing videogames.”

Kuroo wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed. After highschool, Yaku, Kuroo and Kai had agreed upon taking a morning run together just like the old times every weekend so that they don’t lose touch (“If you don’t want to lose touch, just go to their goddamn house and talk to them. Why would you suggest going for a morning run like a psychopath?” Kenma had asked him. Kuroo had no answer for that.) He would have to physically drag Kenma out of his bed with them because if not for that run, Kenma would do 0 physical exercise, and that worried Kuroo.

“I’m just gonna go and look for him, ‘kay? You guys wait for me in my room.” Kuroo said and without waiting for a reply, grabbed a towel and a water bottle for good measure just in case he fainted on the side of the road or something. Kuroo frowned and ran out the door, shaking the dismal thoughts away from his head.

After running around like a madman yelling Kenma’s name while trying to not drown in all the horrifying possibilities of what could’ve happened to him, Kuroo finally found him on the side of the road.

Kuroo dropped to his knees, panting. Was he… just lying there?

Observing him silently for a few minutes confirmed his assumptions. Kenma was lying on his back, legs outstretched like a starfish, casually texting someone in his phone.

“Kenma?” Kuroo exclaimed, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Oh, hey Kuroo. I’m just admiring the sun and texting Shouyou.”

“But you hate the sun-“ Kuroo stopped in his tracks, almost letting out a gasp, “What happened to your knee?”

Kenma glanced at his knee and flinched, “And I almost broke my kneecaps so I can’t walk.”

There was a huge gash on his knee matted with dirt and blood. Just looking at it made Kuroo feel all queasy in his stomach. Kenma must’ve fallen on his knee while he was running.

“Kenma I left you alone for _one minute_ ,” Kuroo fussed and rushed to his friend’s side, “That looks deep. Fuck.”

“Please don’t remind me of it. I’m texting Shouyou to distract myself,” Kenma screwed his eyes shut, “Just looking at it makes me want to throw up."

Kuroo felt a pang of guilt, “Okay, sorry,” sitting down next to him, he asked, ”Can you at least sit up?”

Kenma pushed himself off the ground and sat up, ”Ow.”

Praising himself in his head for his decision to bring a towel and water, Kuroo fixed his eyes on Kenma’s, “Attaboy. Now, the wound looks pretty bad. I gotta clean it so that it doesn’t get infected. Not gonna lie, that’s gonna hurt like a bitch. You can hold my hand if you want.” Kuroo said, trying to sound calm. Inside, he was freaking out because _oh my god that looks so deep. Does it need stitches? Will I clean it up all wrong? Do I dab or wipe the blood from the wound? Fuck, fuck, fuck, I should’ve paid attention to the first aid lessons in school._

Kenma chewed on his lower lip, the colour in his face draining rapidly. He reached out to hold Kuroo’s hand, ”Okay, do it.”

Drenching the towel in water, Kuroo gave Kenma’s fingers a comforting squeeze, ”Alright, here goes.”

The next 10 minutes were filled with screams (Kuroo’s) and facepalms (Kenma’s), but Kuroo managed to clean the wound without passing out. The gash seemed a lot less ugly now that he got rid of all the blood and grime.

Kuroo chucked the bloody towel away, “You good?”

Kenma nodded,” My head is spinning, but yeah. I’ll be good if I just sit like this for a little while.”

They just sat like that for a while, their fingers lightly hooked together, listening to the wind whistle and the leaves rustle.

***

_The last time Kuroo and Kenma were sitting on the same spot, they were 8 and breathless from playing volleyball._

_Earlier that day, Kuroo had seen his dad kiss his mom on the lips. And when he asked him why he did that, his dad simply laughed and ruffled his hair, saying, “I thought your mom just looked really, really pretty today. So I kissed her.”_

_Kenma looked up, and his eyes glittered like ponds of gold, and Kuroo was sure that it was the prettiest thing he has ever seen in his life._

_Kuroo couldn’t help but wonder if he should just kiss Kenma._

_Years later, the duo would look back and wonder what Kenma first thought when he met Kuroo. Kuroo would claim that it was, “He looks so cool, it would be amazing if he could be my friend!” and Kenma would deadpan that it was, “When is he going to shut up?”_

_But neither of them were right. Kenma’s thoughts about Kuroo were something else altogether. And that was the exact same thing they were talking about that sticky summer morning, “I thought you were scary.”_

_Kuroo blinked, “Me? Scary?”_

_Kenma nodded rapidly, “You’re tall and scary. And you look like…” the boy struggled to remember the word, “You look like a scary rooster.”_

_Kuroo frowned and patted his hair down, “Really? I didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted you to be my friend.”_

_Kenma’s eyes widened almost comically, “Why me?”_

_“Because you seemed very, very cool.”_

_Kenma smiled and all Kuroo could think was pretty, pretty, pretty._

_He couldn’t hold it in any longer, “Can I kiss you? You just look really pretty.”_

_Kenma scrunched his eyebrows together, “Kiss me? You don’t kiss someone who is pretty, silly. You kiss someone who you love.”_

_Both the boys didn’t know what exactly the word ‘love’ meant then, but they lapsed in a thoughtful silence like they understood it perfectly well. And maybe they did. Who’s to say? Kuroo was the first one to talk._

_“Okay then!” he said, “One day, I’ll love you so much that I’ll kiss you all the time. What do you want to do till then?”_

_Kenma shrugged, “Whatever you want.”_

_“Oooh let’s play volleyball!”_

_“No.”_

***

“You ready to go?”

Kenma nodded and stood up. Then he immediately fell down with a grunt.

“Hey, take it easy!,” Kuroo said, worry evident in his frown, “You can’t walk?”

Kenma shook his head. He was trying to hide it, but he was clearly in a lot of pain.

Without thinking twice, Kuroo blurted out, “Maybe I can carry you.”

Kuroo fucking hated the way his heart immediately started going _thump, thump, thump_. He hated the way that he couldn't help but love the way Kenma made him feel. 

Kenma’s head snapped towards him, “Tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope.”

Kenma scowled, “I’m not letting you carry me all the way to your house, Kuroo. It’s embarrassing.”

“So you want to walk all the way, then?” he shot back.

Kenma didn’t respond to that, making Kuroo grin, ”Yeah, I’m carrying you home.”

 _Stop talking. This is a bad idea_ , his mind was screaming, but Kuroo wasn’t listening. All his focus was on the delicate blush which was dusted on Kenma’s cheeks.

 _Don’t read into it too much. He’s just embarrassed_.

“On one condition,” Kenma’s voice was tiny, “You’re not carrying me all bridal style.”

Kuroo pouted,”But-“

“No.”

“Fine,” Kuroo got up and helped him stand, “Just jump on my back. I’ll carry you.”

“This is a bad, bad idea,” Kenma grumbled.

”Hop on, kitten.”

As expected, Kenma didn’t say anything about Kuroo’s new nickname. But Kuroo could’ve sworn that he saw his blush deepen before he climbed on his back.

Only then did it truly hit Kuroo that it was indeed a bad, bad idea.

Kuroo swallowed thickly, adjusting his hold on Kenma’s thighs. Kenma weighed almost nothing, but Kuroo couldn’t concentrate on the road ahead with Kenma’s chest pressed against his, his arms circled around him, his lips so close to his neck-

 _Stop that train of thought right there_ , Kuroo thought with a shuddering breath, _Get a grip._

“Kuroo, you okay?” Kenma asked. His breath fanning against his cheek made a shiver run through Kuroo’s spine. It took all of his self-control to just not turn back and connect their lips together.

“Kuroo?”

Kuroo snapped out of some very inappropriate thoughts and tried to respond to Kenma with a casual laugh, but it came out choked,” Me? I’m doing excellent. Never been better. But just try not to talk too much, yeah?”

Kenma nodded and placed his chin on his shoulder and Kuroo wanted to _sob_.

The way back home was going to be a long, long one.

***

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
